Belmont Stakes Contenders: Resilience
The 156th Belmont Stakes (G1) is set for Saturday, June 8, at Saratoga Race Course. This year’s race is shortened to 1 ¼ miles due to the ongoing renovations at Belmont Park, making Saratoga the temporary home for the final leg of the Triple Crown.
Resilience, trained by the cautious and strategic Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott, is a promising contender in this year’s Belmont Stakes. Skipping the Preakness to focus on the Belmont, Resilience aims to bounce back from a sixth-place finish in the Kentucky Derby.
Training and Recent Performance
Resilience demonstrated his readiness with a solid 4-furlong work in 48.00 seconds on Sunday, June 2, at Saratoga’s Oklahoma training track. This workout suggests he is in top form for the Belmont Stakes. In the Kentucky Derby, Resilience was in second place with a quarter-mile to go but couldn’t maintain the lead, finishing behind Mystik Dan.
Career Highlights and Challenges
Resilience took four tries to break his maiden, achieving this on New Year’s Day at Gulfstream Park under the guidance of Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez. Velazquez, noting Resilience’s hesitation to pass horses, recommended blinkers for the Wood Memorial, a move that paid off with a victory.
In the Derby, Velazquez was on the favored Fierceness, leaving Junior Alvarado to ride Resilience for the first time. For the Belmont, Resilience will once again race with blinkers, a strategy that has previously proven effective at other graded stakes.
Bill Mott expressed confidence in Resilience’s training session, stating, “It was very, very good. The time was good, and he did it the right way. We intentionally wanted him to go out a bit around the turn after the work, which he did.”
Betting Perspective
Despite his potential, Resilience’s record is modest, with just one win outside the Wood Memorial. His career record stands at 7-2-1-1 with earnings of $494,630. Enthusiasts who bet on horses might approach with caution, considering his 10-1 Belmont Stakes odds.
Race Details
– Post Position: 2
– Jockey: Junior Alvarado
– Trainer: Bill Mott
– Owner: Emily Bushnell, Ric Waldman
– Top Equibase Speed Figure: 103
– Pedigree: Into Mischief – Meadowsweet, by Smart Strike
– Color: Bay
– Running Style: Stalker
Resilience’s pedigree includes notable names such as Into Mischief and Smart Strike. Bred by Pam and Marty Wygod, he is co-owned by their daughter, Emily Bushnell, and Ric Waldman, known for managing the career of the influential stallion Storm Cat at Overbrook Farm.
| PP | Horse | Jockey | Trainer | Owner | Odds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Seize The Grey | Jaime Torres | D. Wayne Lukas | MyRacehorse | 8-1 |
| 2 | Resilience | Junior Alvarado | Bill Mott | Emily Bushnell & Ric Waldman | 10-1 |
| 3 | Mystik Dan | Brian Hernandez, Jr. | Kenneth McPeek | Lance Gasaway, 4 G Racing LLC & Daniel Hamby III | 5-1 |
| 4 | The Wine Steward | Manny Franco | Mike Maker | Paradise Farms Corp. and Staudacher, David | 15-1 |
| 5 | Antiquarian | John Velazquez | Todd Pletcher | Centennial Farms | 12-1 |
| 6 | Dornoch | Luis Saez | Danny Gargan | West Paces Racing LLC, R. A. Hill Stable, Belmar Racing and Breeding LLC, Two Eight Racing LLC & Pine Racing Stable | 15-1 |
| 7 | Protective | Tyler Gaffalione | Todd Pletcher | Repole Stable | 20-1 |
| 8 | Honor Marie | Florent Geroux | Whit Beckman | Ribble Farms LLC | 12-1 |
| 9 | Sierra Leone | Flavien Prat | Chad Brown | Magnier, Mrs. John, Tabor, Michael B., Smith, Derrick, Westerberg, Rocket Ship Racing, LLC and Brant, Peter M. | 9-5 |
| 10 | Mindframe | Irad Ortiz, Jr. | Todd Pletcher | Repole Stable and St. Elias Stables LLC | 7-2 |